Paper drinking cup



Dec. 19, 1933. J E, cso 1,940,406

PAPER DRINKING CUP Filed June 50, 1932 Joseph E Ericson Patented Dec. 19, 1933 UNITED- STATES 1,940,406 PAPER DR'INKING CUP Joseph E. Ericson, New Britain, Conn., assignor to Connecticut Paper Products Company, Inc.,

Plainville, C onn.,' a corporation of Connecticut Application June 30, 1932. Serial No. 620,125

3 Claims. (01. 226-53) This invention relates to paper drinking cups, and more specifically to the flat or envelope type of cup which is adapted to be stored in stacks in dispensing machines and to be withdrawn therefrom one by one in a flat condition.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved cup of this character, one wall,

of which is provided with a substantially thickened triangular portion, the base of which is disposed adjacent the closed bottom of the cup and which gradually decreases in width towards the mouth of the cup. By means of such a structure, my improved cup may be readily opened by merely pressing the opposite side edges thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved cup of this character, the bottom portion of which will remain substantially flat while stored in the dispensing machine so that the cup may be easily taken therefrom.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved cup of this character which is relatively simple in construction and hence may be cheaply and easily manufactured.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein is shown, for illustrative purposes, one embodiment which the present invention may take:

Figure l is a plan view of the blank from which my improved cup is formed;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of my completed cup;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail view of the bottom portion of my cup partly folded; and v Fig.5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 2. Referring more particularly to .the drawing, A designates a blank from which my improved cup is made. The blank A comprises a body portion 10 which forms the back of the completed cup, and 11 and 12 designate wings which extend from the opposite side edges of the body portion and which, when folded on the lines a, one upon the other, form the front 13 of the cup. The body portion 10 is preferably rounded off at its ,upper edge and decreases in width towards the lower edge thereof. An extension 14 projects from the lower edge of the body portion 10 and is of substantially the same width as the lower edge of the portion 10. Each of the wings 11 and 12 may have its upperedge cut away, as at 15, so that when one wing is folded over upon the other the upper edges thereof will be disposed beneath the upper edge of the back of the cup. It will also be noted that from a point adjacent the lower edge of each wing the sides thereof taper inwardly andupwardly so that when the wing 11 is folded over upon the opposite wing 12 and secured thereto by means of gluing or the like these wings will overlap one another to form a substantially thickened triangular portion 16. The base 16' of this triangle 16 is disposed adjacent the bottom of the cup, and is substantially the same width as that of the lower end of the front 13, and the sides of the triangle 16 converge from the bottom of the cup upwardly towards the mouth thereof and terminate in an apex 17 which is disposed at substantially the upper edge of the front 13 of the cup and midway of the ends thereof. When the wings are folded upon one another in the manner above described,

which is substantially the same width as the 7 base of each wing. After the wings have been folded upon and secured to one another, the extension 14 and the flaps 19 are folded along the lines b and 0, respectively, upon the front of the cup and are secured thereto by means of glue or the like.

In the use of my improved cup, a plurality of them are .stored in a dispensing machine, one upon another, with the bottom of the lowermost cup of the stack exposed so that it may be grasped by the fingers of the user and withdrawn from the dispensing machine in flattened condition.

The user then takes the cup' in one hand with the thumb and fingers engaging opposite side edges thereof adjacent the bottom of the cup and, by pressing slightly thereagainst, the front 13 of the cup 4111 be moved forwardly away from the width at the top where the transverse flexibility of the front is greater and which is of maximum width adjacent the bottom where the opening pressure is applied to the side edges of the cup. Thus, crumpling or caving in of the cup where the opening pressure is applied is avoided assuring that the cup will properly open as above stated. It will also be noted that, due to the many layers of the material at the bottom of the cup, that is the wings 11 and 12, extension 14, and flaps 19, the bottom portion of the cup will with-- stand all tendency to sag at any point throughout its width when a plurality of the cups are stacked in a dispensing machine and will remain substantially flat so that the user may readily grasp the bottom of the lowermost cup and withdraw the same easily from a dispenser.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of I the scope of the invention which, as a matter of 1. A paper drinking cup having a pair of opposed walls and a closed bottom, one of said walls having a substantially thickened triangular portion the base of which is disposed adjacent said closed bottom and is substantially the same width as that of said wall and the apex of which is disposed adjacent the mouth of the cup.

2. A paper drinking cup having a pair of opposed walls and a closed bottom, the opposite side edges of said walls tapering downwardly and inwardly towards said closed bottom, one of said walls having a thickened triangular portion the base of which is disposed adjacent said closed bottom and is of substantially the same width as that of the lower tapered portion of said wall and the sides of which extend upwardly and inwardly towards the mouth of the cup to terminate in an apex adjacent the mouth of the cup.

3. A paper drinking cup having a pair of opposed walls, one of said walls being formed by a pair of overlapping wings, each of which is pro vided with a flap at its lower edge, the other wall having an extension secured to its lower edge, said flaps and extension being of the same width as that of their respective walls, said overlapping wings providing a thickened triangular portion the base portion of which is substantially the same width as that of said walls, said flaps and extension being folded together in superimposed relation and secured to the base portion of said triangular portion to provide a closed bottom.

JOSEPH E. ERICSON. 

